Back in Detroit
"You're never going to find her, Tommy. If she doesn't want to be found then she won't be."
Snarling, Tommy made a move to grab Casey by her ponytail but came up empty when she moved out of the way quickly. "Don't tell me what I can and can not do, Casey, I don't like hearing about my abilities from someone of your status."
With a glare, Casey stood and huffed loudly, "My status? And what is that, darling? The only girl who will come within a mile of you without being surrounded by a protective layer of plastic? Huh, is that it? I think it is."
Tommy yanked Casey by her arm and pushed her onto the sofa, "One more word from you and I'll cut out your tongue."
Cowers at the threat and quiets immediately, knows he'll do just what he says he will and doesn't want to end up losing any body parts. Tries to placate him by running her hand over his arm, "But baby, there wouldn't be any appeal if you cut off my tongue."
"That's the idea, sugar lips." Letting go of her arm, Tommy moved towards his desk to once again go over the things that were so ingrained in his mind. 'Must find Dagger, at any cost; she has to pay for what she's done to me. That little bitch can't run away and just leave this all behind her. No, it isn't going to happen. She'll pay, oh yes, she'll pay.'
'Well we got no choice.. all the girls and boys.. making all the noise.. cause they found new toys..' Dagger nodded her head quietly along with the lyrics blaring in her ears as she laid back on her bed with her eyes closed. She was not looking forward to this trip. At first she had thought that this could have helped her plan but she realized that it couldn't. The only way her plan could go the way she wanted it to was if she would be able to get out of here but she knew that Peter would keep to close of an eye on all of them. 'School's out for summer....'
Angrily, she flopped over onto her side and shut off the CD player, pulling her earphones off as well and breathing a deep breath. This wasn't how this was supposed to end. Rocky was supposed to be by her side, not some boy who had a slight infatuation with her persona. God.. how could she have been stupid enough to kiss him back. That wasn't the way that was supposed to go down but it was too late to take it back now. She berated herself inwardly for her stupidity over that.
Without her noticing, the night gave way to day and she realized that she wouldn't be able to get any sleep at all before this little trip Peter had planned. And so with that in mind she stood and started walking around the cabin quietly to pack some of the things Peter had told her she'd need in the pack he'd given her after group the night before. Then she went to grab a shower before the others woke up. By the time she was finished and exited the bathroom, both Shelby and Daisy were up and chatting quietly on Shelby's bed; obviously they were both waiting for the shower.
Cahill headed over towards her bunk and glanced at the picture of Rocky that still stood on the dresser next to her bunk. Without thinking she lifted her hand up and pulled the picture face down, not wanting to see or think about him right now. She needed to clear her head before she gave anymore thought to him and what she owed him. He had saved her when she first ended up on the streets and she wasn't going to let Tommy get away with his death.
After about half an hour all the girls were ready to go and they trooped outside to find Peter, Sophie, and the boys standing about thirty feet away. Shelby's eyes lit up when they landed on Scott and she made her way over to stand next to him and began whispering to him. "Hey.. Scott?"
Scott turned his head and gave her tired smile before rubbing his hair, "Yeah, Shel?"
"I think I should tell you something." With a sigh she looked around, making sure that no one else was paying attention to them. Briefly her eyes focused on Cahill who stood at the edge of the group, staring off at the first lost in thought. As if feeling eyes on her, Cahill's head snapped toward Shelby and she frowned at them for a moment before turning her back and going back to her thoughts. "Do you remember how I told you about that girl from Detroit? The one who basically ran most of the drug rings in the area?"
"Yeah, sure... the cold one, right?" Scott eyed Shelby, apprehensively, having seen the exchange between the two girls. "Shel, just come out and tell me."
"I think.. No, I'm sure that that girl is Cahill."
"What? That doesn't make any.. actually that makes a lot of sense." Scott lifted his eyes once more to look over at Cahill. "Are you absolutely sure though?"
"Yeah, it was harder to recognize her off of the streets. She doesn't usually dress like that." Shelby motioned to the jeans and t-shirt that currently adorned Cahill's body. "And I never really saw her, just heard a description from this girl who used to work with me." At the look Scott gave her she quickly continued, "When I was waitressing, smart-ass. Anyway, it makes more sense now that I think about. Her getting all defensive when that topic about girls who run the drug ring came up."
"Yeah, that does make a lot of sense." Nodding slightly, Scott was about to continue when Peter cut them off.
"Alright group, gather around." He waited for them all to come closer and frowned a bit when Cahill still stayed a good five feet away from the others. It seemed that her brothers' visit had done nothing to help but more to harm her position here. He hadn't even seen her say anything to Juliet and that was surprising seeing as how those two had become fast friends since her arrival. "I've decided that this will be a buddy outing." Smiling slightly at the groans they were all admitting he continued, "I'll pair you off into groups and you'll follow the path marked on the map. You should reach the end point in exactly two days and you'll rest a day before coming back in a different set of groups. Please hand out the packets, Soph."
Sophie obliged and picked up where he had left off, "You are to answer these questions together between the time you leave here and arrive at your destination. You'll be given a separate packet for the return journey."
"Thanks." Peter glanced around, knowing they were all wondering what was up with the load of work he was giving them. Usually their hikes were simpler, but this was a point that had to be made with a certain less experienced member of their pack. "Sophie and I will check in on you once a day, but other than that you'll be left to yourselves. Alright here are you're groups." As Peter read off the names, everyone glanced around, wondering where he would place their newest newbie. "Ezra, Auggie, and Daisy are group one," Silently he passed their map over to them.
He held out the second map to Shelby, "Shel, you're with Jules."
Shelby looked over at Juliet, slightly disgusted, "Just the two of us? Are you trying to cause a cat fight Peter?"
Peter simply smiled and pulled out the third and final map, "Of course, this leaves David, Scott, and Cahill."
Scott stepped forward to grab the map but David got there first. "Oh joy, guess what Scottie? We get to break in the newbie."
As Scott looked over at Cahill he could have sworn that it looked like she wanted to break in David's face but that emotion was gone after a moment and she just gave a slight shrug as she walked over to join them and look at the map. "Hope you boys are good at the forest bit, I'm a bit of a city girl."
The tone of her voice was icy but her body seemed to radiate heat from David's last comment. "We'll get you there safe enough." Scott tried to sooth her but he should have guessed that both his tone and what he said would have set her off, he knew it would have set Shelby off and they were more alike than they'd ever admit. He quickly tried to take back what he'd said, "I mean.."
It was too late though, the damage had been done, "I know exactly what you meant, -Scottie-. Lets see if you get there safe enough." With that she turned and gazed out at the woods, angry with herself for having shown her anger.
Peter, having seen the whole exchange gave a bit of a smile to Sophie. This wasn't the exact reaction he had been wanting from her but it was better than the nothing he'd been getting. He was hoping that not only the questions but the time out with both Scott and David would set her off in some way or another. Get her to let at least one wall crumble. He knew that at least David would her temper like no one else and he thought that Scotts obvious need to sooth her would set her off as well. She wasn't the type who liked to be coddled. He'd find out soon enough though, "Alright, gang let's go."
He watched the three groups set off towards different parts of the forest, hoping that this would achieve what he wanted it to. He needed to get through to some part of Cahill. If this didn't help he didn't know what would. "I'll be back Sophie, I want to check on a few things before we get going. I'm sure they'll be alright for a few hours."
Sophie glanced at Peter and gave a swift nod, "That's fine. I'm going to start packing the gear." With that, Peter trotted off towards the office to once again go over Cahill's file and see if anything at all would stick out this time. And then maybe he'd call in a few of his sources and see what they could come up with.
A.N. Thank you for being so patient with this chapter and I'm hoping that the next one will be up very quickly. Mostly because I've gotten back into the swing of writing this story and I plan on putting most if not all of my effort into this one until I'm completely finished with it. And just to answer a few reviews, Cole and Cahill might have something but I don't think Cahill will take it very seriously because of their age difference. I did at one point say that Cole was several years younger than Cahill. That in her mind will make him far to naïve for her. And she isn't really over Rocky. But we'll see what happens there.
"You're never going to find her, Tommy. If she doesn't want to be found then she won't be."
Snarling, Tommy made a move to grab Casey by her ponytail but came up empty when she moved out of the way quickly. "Don't tell me what I can and can not do, Casey, I don't like hearing about my abilities from someone of your status."
With a glare, Casey stood and huffed loudly, "My status? And what is that, darling? The only girl who will come within a mile of you without being surrounded by a protective layer of plastic? Huh, is that it? I think it is."
Tommy yanked Casey by her arm and pushed her onto the sofa, "One more word from you and I'll cut out your tongue."
Cowers at the threat and quiets immediately, knows he'll do just what he says he will and doesn't want to end up losing any body parts. Tries to placate him by running her hand over his arm, "But baby, there wouldn't be any appeal if you cut off my tongue."
"That's the idea, sugar lips." Letting go of her arm, Tommy moved towards his desk to once again go over the things that were so ingrained in his mind. 'Must find Dagger, at any cost; she has to pay for what she's done to me. That little bitch can't run away and just leave this all behind her. No, it isn't going to happen. She'll pay, oh yes, she'll pay.'
'Well we got no choice.. all the girls and boys.. making all the noise.. cause they found new toys..' Dagger nodded her head quietly along with the lyrics blaring in her ears as she laid back on her bed with her eyes closed. She was not looking forward to this trip. At first she had thought that this could have helped her plan but she realized that it couldn't. The only way her plan could go the way she wanted it to was if she would be able to get out of here but she knew that Peter would keep to close of an eye on all of them. 'School's out for summer....'
Angrily, she flopped over onto her side and shut off the CD player, pulling her earphones off as well and breathing a deep breath. This wasn't how this was supposed to end. Rocky was supposed to be by her side, not some boy who had a slight infatuation with her persona. God.. how could she have been stupid enough to kiss him back. That wasn't the way that was supposed to go down but it was too late to take it back now. She berated herself inwardly for her stupidity over that.
Without her noticing, the night gave way to day and she realized that she wouldn't be able to get any sleep at all before this little trip Peter had planned. And so with that in mind she stood and started walking around the cabin quietly to pack some of the things Peter had told her she'd need in the pack he'd given her after group the night before. Then she went to grab a shower before the others woke up. By the time she was finished and exited the bathroom, both Shelby and Daisy were up and chatting quietly on Shelby's bed; obviously they were both waiting for the shower.
Cahill headed over towards her bunk and glanced at the picture of Rocky that still stood on the dresser next to her bunk. Without thinking she lifted her hand up and pulled the picture face down, not wanting to see or think about him right now. She needed to clear her head before she gave anymore thought to him and what she owed him. He had saved her when she first ended up on the streets and she wasn't going to let Tommy get away with his death.
After about half an hour all the girls were ready to go and they trooped outside to find Peter, Sophie, and the boys standing about thirty feet away. Shelby's eyes lit up when they landed on Scott and she made her way over to stand next to him and began whispering to him. "Hey.. Scott?"
Scott turned his head and gave her tired smile before rubbing his hair, "Yeah, Shel?"
"I think I should tell you something." With a sigh she looked around, making sure that no one else was paying attention to them. Briefly her eyes focused on Cahill who stood at the edge of the group, staring off at the first lost in thought. As if feeling eyes on her, Cahill's head snapped toward Shelby and she frowned at them for a moment before turning her back and going back to her thoughts. "Do you remember how I told you about that girl from Detroit? The one who basically ran most of the drug rings in the area?"
"Yeah, sure... the cold one, right?" Scott eyed Shelby, apprehensively, having seen the exchange between the two girls. "Shel, just come out and tell me."
"I think.. No, I'm sure that that girl is Cahill."
"What? That doesn't make any.. actually that makes a lot of sense." Scott lifted his eyes once more to look over at Cahill. "Are you absolutely sure though?"
"Yeah, it was harder to recognize her off of the streets. She doesn't usually dress like that." Shelby motioned to the jeans and t-shirt that currently adorned Cahill's body. "And I never really saw her, just heard a description from this girl who used to work with me." At the look Scott gave her she quickly continued, "When I was waitressing, smart-ass. Anyway, it makes more sense now that I think about. Her getting all defensive when that topic about girls who run the drug ring came up."
"Yeah, that does make a lot of sense." Nodding slightly, Scott was about to continue when Peter cut them off.
"Alright group, gather around." He waited for them all to come closer and frowned a bit when Cahill still stayed a good five feet away from the others. It seemed that her brothers' visit had done nothing to help but more to harm her position here. He hadn't even seen her say anything to Juliet and that was surprising seeing as how those two had become fast friends since her arrival. "I've decided that this will be a buddy outing." Smiling slightly at the groans they were all admitting he continued, "I'll pair you off into groups and you'll follow the path marked on the map. You should reach the end point in exactly two days and you'll rest a day before coming back in a different set of groups. Please hand out the packets, Soph."
Sophie obliged and picked up where he had left off, "You are to answer these questions together between the time you leave here and arrive at your destination. You'll be given a separate packet for the return journey."
"Thanks." Peter glanced around, knowing they were all wondering what was up with the load of work he was giving them. Usually their hikes were simpler, but this was a point that had to be made with a certain less experienced member of their pack. "Sophie and I will check in on you once a day, but other than that you'll be left to yourselves. Alright here are you're groups." As Peter read off the names, everyone glanced around, wondering where he would place their newest newbie. "Ezra, Auggie, and Daisy are group one," Silently he passed their map over to them.
He held out the second map to Shelby, "Shel, you're with Jules."
Shelby looked over at Juliet, slightly disgusted, "Just the two of us? Are you trying to cause a cat fight Peter?"
Peter simply smiled and pulled out the third and final map, "Of course, this leaves David, Scott, and Cahill."
Scott stepped forward to grab the map but David got there first. "Oh joy, guess what Scottie? We get to break in the newbie."
As Scott looked over at Cahill he could have sworn that it looked like she wanted to break in David's face but that emotion was gone after a moment and she just gave a slight shrug as she walked over to join them and look at the map. "Hope you boys are good at the forest bit, I'm a bit of a city girl."
The tone of her voice was icy but her body seemed to radiate heat from David's last comment. "We'll get you there safe enough." Scott tried to sooth her but he should have guessed that both his tone and what he said would have set her off, he knew it would have set Shelby off and they were more alike than they'd ever admit. He quickly tried to take back what he'd said, "I mean.."
It was too late though, the damage had been done, "I know exactly what you meant, -Scottie-. Lets see if you get there safe enough." With that she turned and gazed out at the woods, angry with herself for having shown her anger.
Peter, having seen the whole exchange gave a bit of a smile to Sophie. This wasn't the exact reaction he had been wanting from her but it was better than the nothing he'd been getting. He was hoping that not only the questions but the time out with both Scott and David would set her off in some way or another. Get her to let at least one wall crumble. He knew that at least David would her temper like no one else and he thought that Scotts obvious need to sooth her would set her off as well. She wasn't the type who liked to be coddled. He'd find out soon enough though, "Alright, gang let's go."
He watched the three groups set off towards different parts of the forest, hoping that this would achieve what he wanted it to. He needed to get through to some part of Cahill. If this didn't help he didn't know what would. "I'll be back Sophie, I want to check on a few things before we get going. I'm sure they'll be alright for a few hours."
Sophie glanced at Peter and gave a swift nod, "That's fine. I'm going to start packing the gear." With that, Peter trotted off towards the office to once again go over Cahill's file and see if anything at all would stick out this time. And then maybe he'd call in a few of his sources and see what they could come up with.
A.N. Thank you for being so patient with this chapter and I'm hoping that the next one will be up very quickly. Mostly because I've gotten back into the swing of writing this story and I plan on putting most if not all of my effort into this one until I'm completely finished with it. And just to answer a few reviews, Cole and Cahill might have something but I don't think Cahill will take it very seriously because of their age difference. I did at one point say that Cole was several years younger than Cahill. That in her mind will make him far to naïve for her. And she isn't really over Rocky. But we'll see what happens there.